Ned is the first pick, and another participant agrees that Ned gets on their nerves and is a tough hang.
Steve Christie (as transcribed), who runs the camp, is called a piece of shit: he puts the kids to work on a tree stump, hits on Alice shirtless, leaves, and sobers up at the diner, maybe taking a run at the waitress.
Ned is the one in the Native American headdress who keeps culturally appropriating, the planned subject of an award for the guy you can't wait to die, and they only find him on the bed above, which is not enough.
The cop telling him to settle down, Tonto, is in a completely different movie, cops in the first three movies always get called away to a car accident, and Ned acts like he is Chevy Chase.
Across the franchise, the worst hang is the guy from Last American Virgin in part four who watches old movies on the projector.
Another weak link pick is Alice: Annie should have been the hero and Alice killed off first, since Alice is a rough hang with bad hair.
Adrian King (as transcribed), who plays Alice, got a stalker afterward and wanted to be killed in two as fast as possible; she could have been the Laurie Strode of the series, while Annie, Karen Allen 2.0, is gone in the first 10 minutes.
Andrew Stevens is said to have competed with Hamill for both The Oregon Trail and Star Wars. — Bill Simmons
Karen Allen, Amy Irving, Cindy Williams, Linda Pearl, and Joe Foster are discussed as Leia possibilities, with uncertainty around some claims. — Bill Simmons
Russell is said to have auditioned for both Luke and Han because his age placed him between the roles. — Bill Simmons
Jack Nicholson is an intriguing Han thought experiment, while James Kahn and Al Pacino later claimed to have declined the role. — Bill Simmons
Peter Mayhew and David Prowse were offered a choice between Chewbacca and physical Vader and selected the good and bad roles respectively. — Bill Simmons
Crisco, nasal spray or poppers, and handkerchiefs are floated without a resolved affirmative choice.
The S&M leather scene in movies receives an affirmative Apex judgment; Pulp Fiction’s gimp is considered a more problematic, decontextualized later portrayal. — Wesley Morris
Karen Allen is spared blame because of cut material; Ted is proposed as the weak link despite his necessary explanatory function.
The hotel sting is confusing: Burns protests that backup arrived too early despite being tied up, leaving unclear whether he wanted sex or was waiting for a knife.
The police interruption is interpreted as premature ejaculation followed by punishment of the victims; the confusing sequence’s destination is nevertheless appreciated.
Protests reportedly ruined sound and contributed to multiple killer voices; around 40 minutes of explicit club footage were removed, described by Friedkin as pornography. — Chris Ryan
The film derives from Gerald Walker’s 1970 novel, which Friedkin disliked; unsolved leather-bar murders, Village Voice articles and undercover officer Randy Jorgensen helped motivate his interest. — Bill Simmons
Friedkin’s retrospective explanation frames the film as a murder mystery in an S&M setting rather than an anti-gay statement, with the timing amid gay liberation and AIDS shaping its reception. — Bill Simmons
The city’s 1970s seediness is recalled through the blackout and Times Square; critic Nathan Lee’s enthusiastic reappraisal is placed uncertainly in the 2000 s or 2010 s. — Bill Simmons
Pacino’s dramatic-star run precedes reported refusals of Han Solo, Close Encounters, Apocalypse Now and Kramer vs. Kramer; he wanted Slap Shot but his inability to skate reportedly cost him the role. — Bill Simmons
Friedkin reportedly criticized Pacino’s eloquence, lateness and lack of creative ideas; the onscreen performance is defended against that judgment. — Wesley Morris
The reported budget is 11 million dollars and gross 19.8 million, characterized as a hit. — Bill Simmons
Karina Longworth’s podcast is cited for an interpretation of erotic thrillers partly as AIDS allegories, not solely reducible to that reading. — Wesley Morris
A cited interpretation connects the captain’s limp to compromised masculinity; the author is not remembered and the reading remains interpretive. — Bill Simmons
The novel’s protagonist is described as racist, unlike the film’s more valuable transformative journey. — Wesley Morris
The soundtrack discussion lists Willy DeVille with “the moment” and “Pulling My String,” the Cripples, John Hiatt’s “Spy Boy,” Madelynn von Ritz, the Germs’ “Lion’s Share” and Rough Trade; only one intended Germs song was used. — Bill Simmons
Mutiny’s “Lump” is identified as the opening song and the only funk track; another female-sung disco-tinged track is characterized as fundamentally rock. — Wesley Morris
The earlier uncertain collaborator name is corrected to Travis Mathews in the discussion of Interior. Leather Bar. — Bill Simmons
The missing explicit footage reportedly no longer exists, having been destroyed in fires according to Friedkin. — Wesley Morris
Friedkin reportedly worked with Mafia members because they owned many of the city’s gay bars.
The morgue sequence is reported as the first film given permission to shoot there; medical examiner Michael Baden allegedly lost his job over the decision before later television fame. — Bill Simmons
Karen Allen reportedly never received the complete script because her character was meant not to know what Burns was doing; the implications for her final costume scene are questioned.
Journalist Arthur Bell is identified as the early organizer of opposition. — Bill Simmons
A protest reportedly drew 1000 marchers through the East Village, and Bell’s Village Voice articles are recommended. — Bill Simmons
The Mineshaft refused filming; Friedkin reportedly submitted the initially X-rated film 50 times and removed 40 minutes, inconsistently claiming the cuts either did not affect the story or obscured Burns as a possible killer. — Bill Simmons
Writer John Rechy reportedly persuaded Friedkin to remove a gay-liberation slogan from the opening body-recovery scene because it could be misread. — Bill Simmons
An initial disclaimer disavowing judgment of gay life is recalled as controversial, though absent from the current viewing and not quoted exactly. — Wesley Morris
The explicit club footage reportedly used actual patrons and leather-scene participants rather than primarily actors. — Wesley Morris
The club scenes are praised for erotic engagement and reciprocal looks rather than detached tourism, illustrating cruising through eye contact. — Wesley Morris
The movie captures layered New York nightlife and the descent from ordinary streets into unknown enclosed spaces; it is praised as of a place rather than merely shot there. — Chris Ryan
The killer or killers are creepy, and the conspicuously different dubbed voices can heighten that creepiness despite sounding bad.
The gritty mostly punk soundtrack lends legitimacy despite largely unfamiliar songs; it is distinguished from a disco soundtrack and linked to emerging post-punk/no-wave music. — Bill Simmons
Karen Allen’s presence and apartment are appreciated, with real buildings and apartments making the city convincing rather than repeatedly reused sets. — Chris Ryan
Burns removing window-fan slats and the informal rules of apartment leasing feel specifically New York. — Wesley Morris
The clubs feel authentic: Anvil, Ramrod, Wolf’s Den, Cockpit, Eagle’s Nest/Eagle, plus unnamed policeman and American-flag bars. — Wesley Morris
Martino Perry’s Mercedes is admired, including casually parking where a space should not exist.
The film’s view of police power and lawlessness remains relevant. — Bill Simmons
Ted’s boy-meets-boy play synopsis, ending with an analyst, is enjoyed. — Bill Simmons
James Remar’s committed performance is praised alongside The Warriors and 48 Hrs.; a neighborhood sighting prompts an anecdote about being too intimidated to approach him.
Burns’s wardrobe progresses from khakis and work shirt to makeup and studded leather, visibly tracking exploration that may go unnoticed on a first viewing.
The title card is praised alongside the other Naughty November films’ striking title sequences. — Chris Ryan
The ambiguous mirror ending and return to the harbor are admired, including the possibility of continuing murders; the editing problems may have helped create its ambiguity. — Bill Simmons
The assignment scene is praised for Burns readily volunteering rather than resisting, with promotion seeming secondary; the captain opens by bluntly asking about sexual experience with men. — Wesley Morris
The dancing sequence is praised as an unusually uninhibited Pacino moment, interpreted as release and a metaphorical sexual experience rather than mere undercover work. — Wesley Morris
The precinct-night rejection is admired for the irony of an actual undercover cop failing to look or act sufficiently like a fetishized cop. — Wesley Morris
Sorvino’s briefing is a scene candidate, using victim photographs that resemble Burns to explain the undercover assignment.
The first gay-bar visit and Burns’s tour of the Ramrod and Wolf’s Den establish how fully the film enters this world.
Powers Boothe explaining the hanky code is a favorite; Burns promises to think about it and returns with a yellow hanky before being told watching is insufficient.
Burns lifting weights after the hanky-code encounter is interpreted as going beyond a purely undercover commitment. — Bill Simmons
The dressmaker murder sequence, including the cinema trip, is praised as a miniature Hitchcock film. — Chris Ryan
Burns telling the captain he cannot handle what is happening is a favorite; the captain’s indifference highlights the lack of concern for him as a person.
The yearbook identification of Stuart is enjoyed as hands-on mystery solving. — Bill Simmons
Burns tailing Stuart and confronting him at the park benches is praised as an old-fashioned showdown, despite possible police misconduct. — Bill Simmons
The ending with Karen Allen wearing the clothes is admired for leaving the next encounter unknowable; Burns hearing club music during sex suggests mental distance from his girlfriend. — Wesley Morris
The interrogation is considered terrifying and bracing rather than rewatchable or camp.
The nearly naked cowboy-hatted enforcer is interpreted as an S&M embodiment used by police to abuse and coerce suspects. — Wesley Morris
Burns asking why he was hit is a favorite non-dancing Pacino reaction, destabilizing what undercover realism means. — Chris Ryan
Dancing receives repeated final selections, while another preference favors the showdown through hospital and especially the ending. — Bill Simmons
The final shaving and residual cream are interpreted as concealment and a sexual visual metaphor, with agreement on that reading. — Wesley Morris
One host calls the thin romantic spark between Indy and Marion the movie’s biggest flaw; others defend Karen Allen and interpret Indy as constitutionally more committed to quests than relationships.
The long-lived working title Indiana Smith is ridiculed, and Karen Allen’s frustration with a much longer Marion backstory is weighed against Kasdan’s agreement that stripping it down improved the movie. — Bill Simmons
The ghosts and some optical effects look rough, while the red-line travel map is defended as efficient. — Bill Simmons
The panel questions Ronald Lacey’s Toht and Paul Freeman’s Belloq as underpowered villain casting, while also noting Toht’s visual menace and the story’s intent to make Nazis foolish.
The Nazi-aligned monkey is hated as an irritating comic animal whose espionage logic makes little sense. — Bill Simmons
Temple of Doom is criticized for violence, slapstick, tonal loss, and helping trigger PG-13, though Last Crusade later recovers the tone. — Bill Simmons
Kael’s refusal to admire the achievement and a cut scene presenting Indy as more of a playboy are debated as missed or defensible choices. — Bill Simmons
Williams’s score is the first and strongest nomination, with the march, map-room cue, and several distinct themes singled out.
Nazi villains, the sub-two-hour runtime, and the uniquely wearable-by-Ford fedora are praised as durable choices. — Bill Simmons
A very young Alfred Molina, the poisoned-date gag, and the movie’s practical sets and stunts remain vivid. — Bill Simmons
Paramount’s comparatively cheap $39.95 VHS release is credited with selling a million copies within two years and helping unlock home video. — Bill Simmons
The fly that appears to enter Belloq’s mouth and the anonymous male student leaving Indy an apple exemplify accidental and deliberate details that reward rewatches.
Karen Allen’s 1980–81 run and the isolated Nepal bar’s appeal round out the category.
